


The Loop

by im_from_mars_duhh



Category: The X-Files
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-04-22
Updated: 2016-05-07
Packaged: 2018-06-03 18:08:28
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 16
Words: 14,082
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6620929
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/im_from_mars_duhh/pseuds/im_from_mars_duhh
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>"I know what's going on."</p><p>"What? What's going on?" Scully asked, confused and slightly horrified. Mulder just stared at her, contemplating.</p><p>"We're stuck in a sort of loop." he finally said.</p><p>"What?"</p><p>"You know, a loop, like a time loop. We keep going through this day over and over like we're on repeat."</p><p>"Mulder, you mean to tell me that we've been through this before? That this has all happened multiple times already?" Scully asked, skeptical as always. Mulder nodded. </p><p>"Uh-huh."</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Before we begin, I would just like to thank everyone who has decided to read this story. It really means a lot to me, so thank you! And to give you all a little background about it, this story is based on a dream I had. I just took that dream and spruced it up a bit, and here we are. This is one of my favorite stories that I've written so far, so hopefully you all like it as well. Now, onto the story!

        One in the afternoon, seventy degrees, slightly cloudy. Dana Scully and Fox Mulder were driving down the highway, on their way to a horse racing track where a man had committed suicide earlier that morning. The suicide was thought to have been carried out due to more nefarious reasons though, and that was why they were called in. It was only a few hours drive away from where they lived anyhow.

        The radio was off and all that could be heard was the role of the tires against the asphalt and the light breathing from the two people. Scully sat in the passenger seat, rereading the case file, as Mulder was driving, his focus straight ahead. They were sitting in silence as each minute past by, enjoying each others company, when Mulder moved his right hand to rest on Scullys knee. Scully didn't look up from the case file.

        Scully and Mulder had been together for about three years. Everyone at the Bureau knew it, and nobody had a problem with it. To most it seemed like the two had been destined for each other, what with the way they always lightly bickered about the paranormal, yet chatted flirtatiously right after. They seemed like the perfect match.

        Scully lifted her chin a bit, finishing the sentence that she had reread for the umpteenth time, and began to turn her head towards Mulder, finally dragging her eyes away from the file.

        "Yes?" she asked. The sound of her voice startled her a bit, since it had been so quiet for so long, but she shook away the feeling. Mulder turned his head to quickly glance at her, flashing her a small smile, then fixed his gaze back onto the road.

        "Oh, nothing. Just wanted to see if your knee had changed since the last time I felt it." he replied.

        "What, twenty minutes ago?" Scullys face broke out into a smile. She loved Mulders little quips. She never got tired of them.

        "Yeah." Mulder answered, and it was silent again. Mulder kept his hand on Scullys knee and Scully kept her face turned towards him. She stared at his face, taking in his features, noting that his cheeks seemed a bit pink. "Are you feeling well?" she asked, curious.

        "Huh?" Mulder said, turning to glance at her. "Oh - uh - yeah. I'm fine." he finished. Scully was unsure of his answer.

        "Are you sure?"

        "Yeah. I'm fine." he reassured, and then it was silent again, until a few seconds later when Mulder spoke back up. "Um, actually, I - uh - wanted to talk to you about something." Her interest now peaked, Scully sat forward, furrowing her eyebrows.

        "About what?" she asked. Mulder looked at her, taking in her curious and slightly worried stare, and smiled.

        "It's nothing bad. Well, at least I don't think it is." he assured her. Scully felt a weight lift off of her. She wouldn't admit it, but somewhere in the back of her mind she had thought that maybe, just maybe, Mulder was going to break up with her. It's good that he wasn't going to, but then what does he want to talk about?

        Mulder bit his lip slightly as he stared ahead, eyes glued on the road. He had withdrawn his hand, which now joined his other in tightly gripping the steering wheel.

        "Dana," he started. Scullys eyes widened a bit. Even though they were together, Scully and Mulder rarely called each other by their first names. Whatever he has to say must be serious. "I - um - I have something important to ask you." he finished. Scully was hanging on the edge of her seat. What could possibly be so important? She just had to know.

        A few seconds later Mulder was still silent, and it was driving Scully mad.

        "Dammit, Mulder, what do you have to ask me? I'm sitting here, drowning in anticipation, and you won't spit it out!" Mulder let out a low chuckle at her impatiences. He turned to face her, bringing his right hand back down onto her knee, and squeezed lightly as he smiled down at her. His smile caused Scully to smile as well, her cheeks flushing a bit with embarrassment when she realized how impatient she was being. The two stared intimately at each other, silently confessing their love. It was a hard gaze to break, but Scully did as she noticed something behind Mulder. Her eyes widened with fear as she began to draw back.

        "Mulder!" she yelled, breaking his trance, and he turned around just in time to see what she was so frightened about. Right to the left of the car, now only a few yards away, came a large semi-truck barreling straight towards them. In the time it took Mulder to react, it was already too late. The semi crashed into the hood on the driver's side of the car, sending them into quick a spin, which eventually turned into a roll. The last thing Scully remembers seeing is Mulder being tossed around inside the car like a rag doll, just like herself, and then everything was dark.


	2. Chapter 2

        There's a blinding white light. Scully tries to open her eyes, but resorts to a squint, bringing her hand up to shield her eyes from the bright light. She blinks a few times and stares at the ground, letting her eyes adjust. Once she is sure the light won't hurt her, Scully removes her hand from her eyes and looks around, blinking a few more times. Her surroundings are unfamiliar. She sees people walking all around, not really taking any notice of her. She then notices a racing track, some tall bleachers, and a few concession stands. Though confused, Scully quickly notices that Mulder isn't next to her.

        "Mulder?" she calls out, looking around as she waits for a reply, which doesn’t come. Starting to panic, she takes a step forward, yelling out his name again. "Mulder!"

        "Scully!" she hears from behind. She quickly turns around to see Mulder a few yards away from her, squinting at the brightness just as she had been. She rushes over to him.

        "Mulder, where are we?" Scully asks, her mind immediately searching for answers.

        "I think we're at the racing track."

        "How did we get here?" she asks, slightly shaking her head in confusion. Mulder pauses and looks around, as if searching for the answer.

        "I don't know." he finally responds.

        "Well then, that makes two of us." Looking around once more, Scully turns her gaze back to Mulder, who was staring at the bleachers.

        "I don't see any police." he notes. Scully looked at the bleachers, noticing as well.

        "Huh. Maybe they cleaned up quickly. We may have to go to the station." she says, giving him a pointed look. Mulder shook his head.

        "I think we should check first, you know, make sure there isn't anyone waiting for us. They knew we were on our way here." Scully tilted her head in agreement.

        "Okay. Let's go see."

        Scully and Mulder made their way towards the bleachers, yet still didn't see a single police officer on their way there. They didn't even see a regular guard. As they reached the area behind the bleachers where the man had supposedly landed, there was no sign that someone had ever fallen there. There was no ruffle in the dirt, no imprint from the body, not even a speck of blood.

        "You'd think that there'd be more of a mess." Mulder stated, Scully nodding in agreement. The two continued to look around for any sign of the suicide, or even an officer, but still turned up with nothing.

        Scully was staring at the ground, searching for anything, a scuff even, when Mulder spoke out, sounding slightly alarmed.

        "Scully," he called. She turned to see Mulder looking up, and when she saw what he was looking at, she could barely believe her eyes. Up at the top of the bleachers stood a man on the outer side of the railing, looking down at the ground right in front of him as he held on, a look of terror on his face.

        "Oh my god." Scully started, breaking the two out of their shocked trances, and suddenly Mulder was running to the other side of the bleachers, Scully immediately following right behind him.

        The two agents ran up the bleachers as quickly as they could, miraculously not running into anyone as they scrambled to the top, calling out to the man. They were just a few feet away when the man let go, falling forward and out of their view. With a sudden boost of energy, Scully and Mulder finally reached the top of the bleachers, though it was already too late. They stood there, looking down at the man's body, breathing heavily as a result of their hurry. The two couldn't believe their eyes. They had not only just witnessed a suicide, but one that seemed exactly like the description of the one they had been called in to investigate just a few hours earlier.

        They stared down at the man's lifeless body, watching as blood began to seep out from under him, filling in every crack in the ground and pooling around him. Scully and Mulder were frozen. They couldn't think of what to do. They continued to stare in terror and confusion, when suddenly, everything went black. 


	3. Chapter 3

        There's a blinding white light. It takes Scully a moment to open her eyes because of it, the light being so harsh that she has to stare at the ground. She uses her hand as a shield and begins to look around. She sees people walking all around, not really taking any notice of her. She then notices a racing track, some tall bleachers, and a few concession stands. Though confused, Scully quickly notices that Mulder isn't next to her. She begins to call out for him, receiving an answer from behind a few moments later.

        "Scully!" Mulder calls out. She turns around to see that he is only a few yards away and rushes over to him.

        "Mulder, where are we?" Scully asks as she reaches him.

        "I think we're at the racing track."

        "How did we get here?" she asks, slightly shaking her head in confusion. Mulder pauses and looks around as if searching for the answer.

        "I don't know." he finally responds.

        "Well then, that makes two of us." Looking around once more, Scully turned her gaze back to Mulder, who was staring at her, furrowing his eyebrows.

        "Are you picking up a faint deja vu vibe? Because I am." Mulder stated. Scully just continued to look around.

        "I don't see any police." She noted. Mulder realized that fact as well, nodding his head.

        "Maybe we should go look for someone. I mean, they knew we were coming."

        "Okay." Scully agreed, and then they set off to find someone they could talk to. "Don't you think it's kind of weird? I mean, there was a suicide committed only a few hours ago, which they think may have more to it, yet there are no police around still investigating, and there are just people walking around as if nothing ever happened." Scully said as they walked, when suddenly she began to feel a tickle in her nose as they walked past the racing track, the dust that was being kicked up bothering her sinus. She screwed her eyes shut as she began to draw in a deep breath, and finally, she sneezed.

        "Bless you." Mulder said as Scully reached into her pocket to pull out a tissue. It got caught on something, and with a tug, she finally got it loose. She proceeded to wipe her nose and then throw away the tissue as they walked by a garbage can.

        "Thanks." she replied, scrunching her nose a bit.

        "Mmhm. And maybe they cleaned up quickly and decided to take whatever they found back to the station." Mulder said in response to her earlier statement.

        "True, but shouldn't they have at least notified one of us?" Scully asked. Mulder frowned as he thought about the question. It did seem a bit odd. He shook it off though as they approached the back of bleachers.

        "Here we are, the scene of the crime." he stated, gesturing his hands towards the ground as if he were a tour guide. They began to look around for any little piece evidence that may have been left behind, but came up with nothing.

        "Mulder, I don't see anything. Not even a stain from where the blood had pooled. How is that possible? You can't just wash away a liquid from dirt, not without leaving a muddy puddle, and even then you don't know if that'll work. The sand could've soaked up the blood and been permanently stained." Scully noted, but Mulder wasn't listening. "Mulder?" she asked, turning to him, but noticed that he wasn't paying attention to her. He was instead staring up at the bleachers with a look of slight terror. She followed his gaze, a bit confused, then gasped as she saw what had caught Mulder's stare. A man was standing on the outer railing at the top of the bleachers, looking down at the ground right in front of him as he held on, a look of terror on his face.

        Suddenly, Mulder was running to the other side of the bleachers, which pulled Scully from her trance, and she began to run after him. He was a bit ahead of her, but she nearly caught up to him as she began sprinting up the steps. The two agents ran as quickly as they could, shouting out to the man, but to no avail. The man let go of the railing just as they reached the top, and they watched as he fell, soon hitting the ground with a hard thud, blood quickly beginning to seep out from underneath him. They looked upon the sight in horror, shocked at what they had just witnessed, when suddenly, everything went black.


	4. Chapter 4

        There's a blinding white light. It takes Scully a minute, but eventually her eyes adjust, and she takes a look around. She sees a race track, tall bleachers, a few concession stands, and no Mulder.

        "Mulder?" she calls out.

        "Over here!" she hears from behind. She turns around to see Mulder standing only a few yards away, looking a bit dazed and confused, just like her. She hurriedly walks over to him.

        "Where are we?" Scully asks as she reaches Mulder.

        "I think we're at the racing track."

        "How did we get here?" she asks, slightly shaking her head in confusion. Mulder pauses, looking around.

        "I don't know."

        "Well then, that makes two of us." Looking around once more, Scully turned her gaze back to Mulder, who was staring at her, furrowing his eyebrows.

        "Are you picking up a faint deja vu vibe? Because I am." Mulder stated. Hearing this gave Scully the chills. It did seem as though she had done this before. Something weird was going on, but she couldn't quite put her finger on it.

        "Yeah, me too." she agreed with a small nod. Mulder looked at her, a bit surprised.

        "Really?"

        "Yeah." she replied. Looking around again, Scully noticed something. "There are no police."

        "Huh. Maybe they packed up early."

        "Why would they do that if they knew that we were coming?"

        "I don't know." Mulder resolved with a frown. "Let's go see if we can find anyone." he suggested, and with a nod of Scully's head, the two began to walk in hopes of finding someone to talk to.

        As they began to walk past the race track, Mulder stopped, pointing at something on the ground.

        "What's that?" he asked. Furrowing her eyebrows, Scully walked over to what seemed to be a wallet lying on the ground. It looked oddly familiar.

        "Someone must've dropped their wallet." she said as she approached it, then leant down and picked it up. Walking back to Mulder, Scully turned it over a few times in her hand, examining it. The object seemed really familiar now that she was getting a closer look. Too familiar. In fact...

        Scully opened the wallet, now examining the inside with a look of confusion and disbelief.

        "Mulder..." she began, but trailed off due to her lack of words. Mulder stepped closer and took the object from her with caution, slowly opening it, only to be severely shocked by the contents. What they had thought was a wallet had actually turned out to be a badge. And not just any badge, but Scully's badge. Mulder began to examine it, taking out the I.D. to look at, then inspected the badge, but only to come to the conclusion that it was indeed Scully's actual Federal Bureau of Investigation badge.

        "Scully, check your pockets." catching on and doing as he said, Scully began to check every pocket on her.

        "It's not on me, Mulder. I don't have my badge. But how in the hell could it have ended up here?" she asked. Mulder didn't answer. He was too busy staring ahead at nothing. He seemed to be deep in thought. "Mulder?"

        "I... I don't know, Scully." he finally answered. They stood there for a moment, trying to figure out how Scully's badge could have ended up at the racing grounds, but they couldn't come up with a genuine answer. "Okay, I think we should just continue to look for an officer, and then we can try to figure out how your badge ended up here." Mulder suggested. Scully nodded in agreement, and after taking one last skeptical look at her badge, she stuffed it into her pocket, noticing something.

        "Huh. I could've sworn I had a tissue in here."

        The two agents made their way to the scene of the suicide, which was on the ground at back of the bleachers. As they arrived and began to look around, they were surprised at how there was no evidence of suicide whatsoever.

        "This is impossible, Mulder. How can there be no blood stain? I mean, I can get that they probably tried to clean it up, but still, I just don't think that-"

        "Scully!" Mulder interrupted, bringing Scully's attention to him.

        "What?" she asked, looking back at him. Noticing that he wasn't facing her, she followed his gaze, only to be met with a terrible sight. A man was standing at the top of the bleachers, on the outer side of the railing, looking as though he were about to jump. Just then, Mulder broke out into a sprint. Scully quickly began to follow after him, and soon the two of them were sprinting up the steps of the bleachers, but it was already too late. Once they reached the top, the man had already been lying on the ground for a few seconds. Out of breath and terrified, Scully and Mulder stared down at the man's body, watching as blood oozed out from under him. Scully shivered, not from fright, but from the great sense of deja vu that had suddenly come over her. The feeling caused Scully to look up, where she met face to face with Mulder, who she was pretty sure had just felt the same overwhelming sensation as well. As they continued to stare at each other, silently searching for answers, suddenly, everything went black.


	5. Chapter 5

        There's a blinding white light. It takes Scully a minute, but eventually her eyes adjust, and she takes a look around. She sees a racing track, tall bleachers, and a few concession stands. Confused, Scully tries to think of how she got there, when suddenly, she is reminded of her partner. Panic beginning to fill her, Scully calls out his name.

        "Mulder?" she calls. Looking around, she doesn't see him. A jolt of fear jumping through her, she tries again. "Mulder!"

        "Behind you!" she suddenly hears. She then turns around to see Mulder standing a few yards away. She quickly walks over to him, beginning to bombard him with questions.

        "Where are we? The racing track? How did we even get here? Do you remember? Hey, are you listening?" she asks, once she notices that he hasn't said anything. She looks over his features. He is standing in front of her, staring intently at the ground with narrowed eyes. His jaw was clenched tightly. She could tell he was thinking, and hard. Finally, he senses her staring at him, and looks up at her, shaking his head.

        "I don't know how we got here." he states.

        "Well then, that makes two of us."

        "I feel a bit of deja vu though." he adds. Scully nods in agreement.

        "Me too. I didn't see any police, which is weird. Maybe we should go and try to find someone." she suggests.

        "Yeah." Mulder replies, and then they begin to walk towards the bleachers.

        Just as they were about to reach the back of the bleachers, where the man who had committed suicide ultimately died, Mulder stopped walking, looking like he was trying to decide on something.

        "What is it?" Scully asked, a bit concerned. As Mulder looked at her, he seemed to make his decision.

        "Why don't we try the front?"

        "The front? The man didn't die in the front."

        "I know, just - trust me?" he asked. He seemed very keen about it, which seemed a bit weird to Scully, but she decided to go along with it.

        "Alright." she said, then they began to head to the front of the bleachers.

        Once they arrived to the front, they both looked up, surveying the small crowd, when suddenly Mulder yelled out "Hey!" and began to sprint up the stairs. The yell startled Scully a bit, and as she looked to see what Mulder was running towards, she began to make her way quickly up the stairs as well. What they were hurrying towards was a man, who was standing on the outer side of the bleachers. He seemed as though he was about to jump.

        Scully nearly caught up to Mulder, who was now only two steps away from the top. As soon as he got to there, he reached out towards the man, but it was too late. The man had let go of the railing just a second before Mulder could grab him, and as Scully arrived, the two look down, watching as the man fell quickly towards the ground, eventually landing with a sickening thud, and it was over. He was dead.

        Scully and Mulder stared down at the man's body in horror. They had been so close to saving him. Scully drew her gaze to Mulder, who continued to stare down at the man's lifeless body. He had the look again where he seemed to be thinking very intensely. She continued to stare at him, wanting very much to know what he was thinking, when suddenly, everything went black.


	6. Chapter 6

        There's a blinding white light shining right in Scully's face. She brings her hand up to shield her eyes, letting its shadow help them to adjust. As she regains her vision, she begins to looks around. All she really notices is a race track, a set of tall bleachers, and a few concession stands. Confused, Scully looks at the few people walking around, who don't seem to be taking any notice of her. Just then, she remembers Mulder.

        "Mulder?" she begins to shout. "Mulder!" she turns around, looking everywhere for him, when she spots him a few yards away. She begins to make her way over to him, walking quickly to where he was standing. "Mulder," she says as she reaches him. He isn’t paying attention to her though. He seems to be deep in thought.

        "Mulder?" she asks. He continues to stare intently at the ground, his left arm crossed tightly across his torso as his right hand held his chin in a tight grasp. His eyes were narrowed and casting a hard glare. He was very deep in thought indeed, and it began to panic Scully a bit. She decided to continue talking. Maybe it would break him from his trance.

        "Um, we appear to be at the horse racing track. How do you think we got here? Because I have no idea." Scully starts, and as she says this, Mulder’s head begins to slowly lift up as he brings his gaze to her. He begins to look her over, up and down, his eyes eventually landing on her arm.

        "How did you get that tear?" he asked. Confused, Scully furrowed her eyebrows.

        "Tear? What do you mean? This is new." she answered. Since she failed to find the tear, Mulder asked her again.

        "Right there on your elbow, that small tear. How did you get it?" he asked. Still confused, Scully checked both of her elbows, finally finding the tear that Mulder was talking about. It was a sort of ragged tear, about an inch long, on the left elbow of her blazer.

        "Huh, I didn't notice that." she said as she began to inspect it. By the jaggedness of the tear, it seemed as though she had gotten caught on something, but Scully had just bought this blazer a few days ago and worn it for the first time today. She couldn't recall ever getting caught on anything to cause the tear.

        "But how did you get it?" Mulder asked once again, more insistent. Scully drew back a bit.

        "Jeez Mulder, I don't know. And who knows? I could have gotten briefly caught on something without knowing." she replied, though she wasn't too sure of the last part. Mulder fell silent once again as he went back to thinking. Unknowingly toying with the tear, Scully spoke up, trying to change the subject. "So, I don't see any police. Maybe we should try to find someone?" she tried. Mulder didn't budge. Feeling a slight bit of deja vu at what she said, Scully decided to note that. "This feels a bit like deja vu, huh?" she asked. Suddenly, Mulder's head shot up, catching Scully a bit by surprise.

        "Say that again." he asked. A bit weirded out, Scully finally did as he said.

        "This feels a bit like deja vu." she hesitantly repeated. Mulder stared at her, glancing between her and the tear. Then, out of nowhere, his face began to light up as he came to a sudden realization. He had thought of something. Something had finally clicked for him.

        "Scully, do you remember how we got here?" he asked. She shook her head.

        "No."

        "Okay. But think. How were we getting here?"

        "Well, by car, I would presume."

        "Right. Okay, so, what's the last thing you remember from before we got here?" he asked. Scully began to think. She remembered this morning, waking up and getting dressed, eating a light breakfast with Mulder, suddenly receiving the case, the two of them getting into the car to leave for the day... and that seemed to be it.

        "I just remember us getting ready this morning, receiving the case, and then getting into the car to leave."

        "Yes, but what happened while we were in the car?" he asked. Scully tried to think harder. They had stopped to pick up the case file, and then they began their four hour long drive to the horse racing track. Suddenly, more prominent memories began to pop into her head. They were driving. She was reading. Mulder seemed a bit off. They began to talk. They were staring at each other. And then...

        "Oh my god." Scully said aloud, as realization dawned over her as well. She remembered it. Memories began to flood into her mind like a tidal wave.

        "You remember?" Mulder asked. He was now standing in front of her, gripping her shoulders and staring down at her intensely. Finally, she looked back up at him, a look of horror on her face, terror in her eyes. Mulder looked a bit crazed. "You remember what happened?"

        "Yes, I remember the crash." Scully choked out. She gulped, trying to get the lump of fear that had formed in her throat to go down, but it wouldn't budge. "Our crash."


	7. Chapter 7

        "Mulder... how... what... what's going on?" Scully asked, staring up at Mulder, hoping for answers. Mulder still held onto her shoulders, staring down at her intently.

        "I don't know." Mulder finally replied. Scully shook her head.

        "I don't understand. If we were in a car crash, then why aren't we in the hospital? Why can't we remember anything? How did we get here?" she continued with a worried tone. Mulder began to gently rub her forearms, drawing her attention back to him.

        "Hey, whatever's going on, we're going to figure it out. We just need to calm down and try to remember everything we can. Is there anything else you can remember? Anything at all?" Scully furrowed her eyebrows as she stared at his chest, thinking as hard as she could.

        "Um, I sort of remember something. A man, I think. He... he did something." Scully tried. She then began to shake her head, looking back up at Mulder. "That's all."

        At hearing what she said, Mulder began to remember the man as well. His grip on Scully’s shoulders tightened as odd memories of a man committing suicide flooded his mind.

        "Follow me." he stated simply, then let go of her as he began to run in the other direction.

        "Mulder!" Scully yelled out after him, then began to run as well once she realized that he wasn't going to stop.

        She caught up to him as she reached the front of the bleachers. Mulder was staring up towards the top, looking frantically around for something.

        "Mulder," Scully started, leaning over a bit as she caught her breath. "What's going on?"

        "Look!" Mulder suddenly yelled, pointing up at the top of the bleachers, then began to sprint up the steps.

        "What?" Scully asked quietly as she looked where Mulder was pointing, then saw what he had been talking about. At the top of the bleachers on the other side of the railing stood a man who looked as if he were about to jump. A sudden realization hit her, saying that he was the man who she had remembered and that what he had done was committed suicide. With no time to think anymore about it, Scully began to sprint up the steps after Mulder, hoping to get there before it was too late.

        As Scully arrived at the top, she realized that it was indeed already too late. The man had already jumped. She stood next to Mulder, staring down at the man's lifeless body, when Mulder began to speak.

        "I know what's going on."

        "What? What's going on?" Scully asked, confused and slightly horrified. Mulder just stared at her, contemplating.

        "We're stuck in a sort of loop." he finally said.

        "What?"

        "You know, a loop, like a time loop. We keep going through this day over and over like we're on repeat."

        "Mulder, you mean to tell me that we've been through this before? That this has all happened multiple times already?" Scully asked, skeptical as always. Mulder nodded.

        "Uh-huh."

        "This isn't Groundhog Day, Mulder. The conception of being able to relive a day, or moment, or even a second is just science fiction. It simply can't happen." Mulder raised his eyebrows.

        "Then how do you explain the feeling of deja vu?"

        "Well, I've been to horse races before."

        "Okay, then how do you explain how you remember a man," he gestured to the man lying dead on the ground. "doing something horrible."

        "Mulder, that was just a feeling. I've been on many cases before, all of which left me with a feeling of dread towards the death of another human being." Scully reasoned. Mulder's jaw clenched. Scully could tell that he was getting frustrated with her lack of acceptance towards his explanation.

        "How do you explain your memories of being in a car crash? And why we're not in the hospital? And how we got here?" he asked. Scully was silent. She was trying to take it all in. Every angle she approached from only led to one conclusion, one she just couldn't believe: that they were stuck in a time loop. Scully let out a deep sigh.

        "Okay, Mulder, let's say that we are stuck in a time loop. What do we do now? How do we break the loop?" Mulder stared at her, a bit disbelieving, a small smile tugging at the corner of his lips.

        "Well, we would have to figure out why it's happening and stop it. Sort of like solving a puzzle."

        "Okay, but, why did we even end up here at the racing track?" Scully asked, crossing her arms. Mulder looked down at the man's body.

        "I'm guessing because of him."

        "But why?"

        "Well, they said that his suicide was brought on by more nefarious reasons, right? Well, I'm guessing that we have to figure out why he killed himself. He didn't just get up today and decide to jump to his death because he felt like it, there was a reason behind it. We just need to figure that out, and then I think we'll break the loop. I think that since we now know what’s going on, we’ll be able to remember everything, even once the loop restarts."

        “Okay.” Scully replied with a small, skeptical nod. It was silent for a few seconds until Scully let out a huff of breath and then asked another question, in a tone that was a bit more quiet and soft than the others. "Why us?" Mulder went quiet for a moment and stared down at the ground, thinking her question over.

        "I don't know. If I had to guess, I would say it's because we were assigned to the case, which must've given us some sort of connection to it, plus our accident happened close to the race track. When we got into our accident, we must've been put into comas. Now, if we are in comas and we ended up here, we must've been sent here to help him move on, since he died an unjust death, so once we've done that, we'll get to come out of our comas and wake up, having solved the case and helped the man move on." Mulder explained, looking back to Scully. Scully pursed her lips and stared at him with her eyes narrowed. She didn't exactly want to believe any of this, but what choice did she really have? She'll just have to go along with it until she figures out what's really going on.

        "Okay Mulder, I'll go along with what you're saying, just until we find out what's really going on." Scully replied, feeling a bit irritated because of the situation. Mulder pursed his lips. This obviously wasn't the answer that he was looking for. The two of them turned to look back down at the man's lifeless body. As they stared, suddenly, everything went black.


	8. Chapter 8

        There was a bright light. With much effort, Scully opened her eyes, fighting for sight. She quickly turned around, knowing Mulder would be behind her. Once she fully regained her sight she immediately spotted Mulder, who was standing a few yards away, bent over with his hands on his knees, staring at the ground. He seemed to be trying to catch his breath. Scully hurried over to him.

        "Mulder, are you okay?" she asked, resting a hand on his shoulder. He straightened up, drawing in a deep breath and scrunching up his face. Letting out a deep sigh, he opened his eyes and rested them on Scullys.

        "Yeah, yeah. I'm fine." he answered with a brisk nod. Scully took her hand back and brought it to cross her chest along with her other.

        "Okay, what the hell?" she asked. Mulder looked at her, a bit confused, but then a smile broke out across his face.

        "You remember, huh? Everything we just talked about?" Scully glared at him.

        "Yeah, I remember. So what does this mean? That we really are stuck in some sort of time loop?" she asked. Mulder nodded his head, that triumphant smile still playing across his lips.

        "Yup." he answered. Scully didn't want to believe it. How could this even be possible? You wouldn't think that it would be, but with all of the evidence, how could it not be? Frowning at the ground, Scully had a sudden realization. Her head snapped up to look at Mulder.

        "Mulder, the man." she said quickly, then broke out into a sprint towards the bleachers.

        "Scully, wait!" she could hear Mulder yelling from behind as he ran to catch up with her, but she didn't stop. She may be able to stop the man from jumping this time.

        Scully reached the bleachers, looked up, and saw that the man was already on the other side of the railing. With a deep sense of dread, she knew that she would never be able to reach him in time. Mulder finally caught up to her, kicking up some dust as he came to a quick stop. He was panting quickly, his hand coming to splay across his chest.

        "Scully - we won't - be able - to stop him." Mulder said between breaths. Scully turned slightly towards Mulder, but didn't take her eyes off of the man.

        "Mulder, we can't just let him jump!"

        "Scully, we've already been through this. We won't be able to stop him. We have to figure out what caused him to jump, and then this will all be over." Mulder replied, having finally caught his breath. Scully continued to stare up at the man with a look of horror. "We have to wait until he jumps and then search him. I think we'll only have a few minutes to until this all starts over again." Mulder concluded, so the two of them (Scully reluctantly) stood there and waited for the man to jump.

        They watched a minute later as the man jumped, and Scully turned her head so that she wouldn't see him hit the ground. She heard the sickening thud as his body landed, and suddenly Mulder was tugging at her arm.

        "Come on, Scully, we don't have that much time." Mulder said, then let go and ran quickly towards the man, turning him over to face up once he reached him. Scully followed him, kneeling down next to the man's body as soon as she got there, and looked him over. She then began to do the only thing she could think of.

        "Male, around 40 years of age, died on impact-"

        "Scully," Mulder cut her off. "we know how he died. We need to search him quickly to find some clues. Check his coat." he said, then began to search the man's pants pockets. Scully nodded, then reached out and pulled open the man's coat, beginning to look around. The man had two pockets on both sides of the inside of his coat, and after checking the left side - which was empty - Scully reached into the right side, immediately coming into contact with something.

        "Mulder," Scully started as she gripped the object, pulling it from the pocket. Once out, she held it in front of her so that Mulder could see it too. "It's a folded piece of paper." she said, turning it around and examining it. Mulder took his hand out of the man's left pants pocket, then, taking his eyes off of the paper Scully was holding, he looked down at something in his hand. His lips curling into a satisfied smile, Mulder brought what he was holding up so that Scully could see it as well.

        "This could be the _key_ to our investigation, Scully." Mulder stated, a small smirk forming on his lips. He was holding up a key that he had just retrieved from the man's pocket. Scully glared at Mulder, disapproving of his joke. "What?" Mulder asked, a chuckle slipping out of him as he feigned innocence.

        "You know Mulder, I just might have to break up with you." Scully teased, forgetting all about the situation they were currently in. Mulder laughed.

        "If I had a nickle." he replied with a smile, then began to examine the key. Disregarding his comment, Scully unfolded the piece of paper. It had a short sentence written inside, which Scully read aloud.

        "Fifty grand by sundown." she read, furrowing her eyebrows. "Is this some sort of ransom note?" she brought her gaze to look up at Mulder. He looked at the note, then down at the man, his eyebrows furrowing as he began to think. Scully folded the note back up and put it into her pocket, and Mulder put the key into his. Scully turned her gaze down towards the man as well. What did the note mean? Did this man have to pay or collect the money? What in the hell was going on? As she continued to think, suddenly, everything went black.


	9. Chapter 9

        Scully let her eyes adjust to the bright light, and once she was able to see, she immediately turned around and headed towards Mulder. As she got there, she saw that he was reaching into his pocket. Following his lead, she reached into hers as well, pulling out the note she had taken from the man. A bit astounded that it was still there, she looked back up at Mulder, who was examining the key.

        "So, what do we do now?" she asked. Mulder turned the key around in his hands a few times and spoke.

        "This is a car key. His car must be somewhere out in the parking lot. I think we should go find it." he concluded, turning his gaze towards Scully, who lifted her eyebrows.

        "Find his car?" she asked, and as Mulder shook his head in agreement, Scully looked around for the parking lot, finding it behind Mulder. It didn't look too full, but there was a fair amount of cars in it. "Mulder, there has to be at least twenty cars out there. Trying that key on every single one of them would take forever! Not to mention that he may not have even parked his car in this parking lot. What if he parked it down the road?" Mulder raised an eyebrow.

        "Well, we don't really have much of a choice. Besides, if we don't find the car before the loop resets, we'll already know where we've looked and can continue from there. We'll find it eventually." he said, and with that, turned around and began to walk to the parking lot. Rolling her eyes but also seeing no other choice, Scully reluctantly followed after him, hoping that they would find the car soon.

        After a few minutes walk, the two reached the parking lot and began their search. They tried the first few cars closest to them, but none of them were it. They continued on down the second row, and then the third, but to no avail. They had managed to set off a few car alarms, though.

        They approached the fifth row, having skipped the fourth since no one had parked there. There were three cars in this row, the last three left in the parking lot. The two closest to them were only a few spot away from each other, but the third was parked all the way down at the end, yards and yards away. Scully took this in, narrowing her eyes and staring at the third car.

        "Mulder, why don't we try that one first?" she asked, pointing to the third car. Mulder turned to look at it, then turned back to Scully.

        "But what if it isn't the right car? We'll have to walk all the way back over here to try these two." he reasoned.

        "Think about it, Mulder. This man came here most likely knowing that he was probably going to commit suicide. Just think of the type of person he might've been. I just feel like he would've parked all the way over there, away from everyone else, if he even parked here at all." she said. Mulder stared at her for a second, taking in what she said, then nodded his head.

        "I guess that seems possible. Let’s go check it out then." he replied, and then the two began their walk towards the third car.

        Once there, Mulder stood next to the passenger side door, then turned back to look at Scully.

        "Cross your fingers." he said, then put the key into the lock. It slid in. Then, he twisted it, and miraculously, the door unlocked. Mulder pulled out the key, grabbed the handle, and then pulled open the door. He looked at Scully, beaming. "Nice call, Scully." he said as he pocketed the key, causing Scully to blush a bit.

        Mulder leaned down into the car and pressed the unlock button so that Scully could get in and have a look as well. Just as Scully opened the car's back door, Mulder let out a loud cough, startling her. She turned to face Mulder, who was now leaning against the open door, head down as he continued to cough roughly. After a few long seconds he stopped, drawing in a deep breath and scrunching up his face in what looked like pain. Scully felt a tightening in her chest as she began to panic a bit.

        "You okay, Mulder?" she asked, moving towards him. Mulder straightened up and cleared his throat, turning to her and holding his hand out to stop her.

        "Yeah, I'm fine." he said, shaking his hand dismissively. Scully, a bit skeptical, hesitantly decided to drop the subject and just get back to investigating. She turned back towards the car and peered inside, the sight shocking her a bit. There were copious amounts of paper strewn across the back seat, some littering the floor. She reached down into the car, choosing a piece at random, and read it. It seemed to be some sort of medical bill. As she glanced around at the other papers, she noticed that they all seemed to be medical bills as well.

        "Scully, check this out." Mulder said a few seconds later. She leaned further into the car and looked up at the front to see Mulder, who was sitting in the passenger seat, turned to face her, holding a piece of paper in his hand. "It's a note. It says, "Donnie, if you don't have the money you owe Charlie by 6 pm on Saturday, then we have no choice but to kill you. Sorry man, but it's the boss's orders. Wish you luck though." Well if that isn't the most mob sounding letter I've ever read." Mulder finished, looking amused as he set down the note and continued to look around for more clues. A few things clicked for Scully as she heard the names in the letter, one name in particular standing out.

        "Mulder, look," she began, holding out the medical bill she had first picked up. "this is a medical bill for a women named Melody, but billed to a man named Donnie. They both have the same last name, see." she said, pointing to the names on the bill. Scully then set the bill down in front of him on the middle console as she gauged his reaction. Mulder looked up at her and opened his mouth, seeming like he was about to say something, when suddenly, everything went black.


	10. Chapter 10

        As soon as the bright light was out of her eyes and she could see again, Scully rushed towards Mulder.

        "Mulder, do you remember what happened in the car?" she asked him, wanting to make sure he remembered everything.

        "Yeah." he answered.

        "So the medical bills were for a women named Melody, but they were addressed a man named Donnie, and you found a letter to Donnie about how he'll be murdered if he doesn't pay back the money he owes to this Charlie guy, and we found that note about someone owing fifty grand by sundown in that man's pocket. So, I think it's safe to assume that Donnie is the man who committed suicide, right?" Scully asked. Mulder nodded his head. "Okay, so did Donnie come here to meet with the man about the money, only he didn't have it, so he committed suicide before he could be murdered?" she suggested, but quickly began to rethink. "That doesn't make any sense though. Why would he come here if he knew he didn't have the money? To kill himself in front of the man as a way to say "you can't catch me!”?” Scully looked at Mulder for answers, but found that he was deep in thought. A few seconds later he lifted up his head to stare at her, his eyes wide with realization and a small triumphant grin beginning to break out across his face.

        "What?" Scully asked.

        "I get it!" Mulder exclaimed, looking ahead as though he was imagining something. Scully stared up at him.

        "What do you get?” Mulder turned his wide-eyed gaze on her. She had to admit, it was a bit freaky, but nevertheless, it was also cute how he got so excited.

        "The man! Donnie! There's a horse race today, and people bet on horse races, so I'm betting that Donnie came here as a last resort to make some money, but failed, so he killed himself before the person he owed money to could kill him!" Scully crossed her arms, thinking it over.

        "Okay, but why? Why, well... everything?" Scully asked, not knowing how to put it. She was taking in these new possibilities and trying to figure it out, but it seemed that Mulder already knew, and all he needed to do was tell her.

        "Those medical bills, Scully, they were for that women Melody, but billed to Donnie. They both had the same last name, so she must've been his wife or kid or someone related to him, obviously, and he was supposed to pay her medical bills, only he didn't have to money, so he had to go to a loan shark to get some. So, once he's used all of the money he borrowed and paid off the medical bills, now he has to pay back the loan shark, but he doesn't have the money. Well, as his due date drew nearer, he must not have made the money, so he came here on the same and last day he had to pay back the loan to try and make the money, but luck wasn't on his side and he lost everything he had. Now knowing that he's going to be killed, he decides to take his own life instead. See now, Scully?" Mulder asked. Scully had been listening intently and was now thinking it all over. Yes, it did make sense. It made perfect sense.

        "Mulder, I think you're right." she said, earning a wide grin from him. Suddenly, Scully remember how Donnie was going to commit suicide. "Mulder, Donnie." she said, then, without a second thought, took off towards the bleachers. Her sudden decision shocked Mulder a bit, but he quickly caught on and began to run after her.

        As Scully ran she glanced behind to see that Mulder was farther behind than he usually would have been. With how fast he can run, usually he would have already almost caught up with her by now. A few seconds later she glanced back again, seeing that Mulder looked as though he was having a hard time catching up, panting heavily as he tried to run, his body leaning forward as he took in deep breaths. As soon as she got to the bleachers, Scully waited for Mulder, worry beginning to eat away at her conscience. He got to there few seconds later, stopping next to her and reaching out to hold onto the bleachers to support himself as he caught his breath.

        "Seriously, Mulder, are you okay? What's going on?" Scully asks, forgetting about the man who was about to jump from the top of the bleachers, but apparently, Mulder hadn't.

        "Nothing, Scully, I'm fine." he reassured her, trying to slow down his rapid breaths to prove so. "Come on, if we want to stop him we have to move quickly." Mulder said, pointing up to the top of the bleachers. Remembering Donnie, Scully turned around and began to sprint up the steps, Mulder right behind her. Just as in the past though, as soon as they reached the top, Donnie jumped. They were too late, yet again. As they stared down at the dead body, Scully listened to how hard Mulder's breathing seemed to be. They stood there for a while, Mulder thinking over everything they had just learned and ways of how to end the loop, Scully listening to how deep and ragged Mulder's breathing seemed to be, when suddenly, everything went black.


	11. Chapter 11

        Squinting through the bright light, Scully turned around and focused her vision on Mulder. Once she was able to see properly, she quickly hurried over to him. Mulder was standing a few yards away, a scowl on his face as he clenched his fists.

        "Mulder-" Scully began, but was immediately cut off.

        "I don't get it!" Mulder exclaimed, startling Scully a bit. She stared at him as he stood there, his hands now on his hips and his jaw clenched, looking around wildly as if in search of an answer. "I don't understand!"

        "What?" Scully asked. Mulder turned to look at her, his eyes widening a bit. He seemed very frustrated.

        "We figured it out! We figured out why he killed himself, why he died, yet we're still stuck in this damn loop! Why can't we get out? What else is there to do?" he was waving his arms around, showing off his frustration.

        "Mulder, calm down, we'll figure this out-"

        "We've already figured it out, Scully!" he said. Scully clenched her jaw shut. Sure, she was a bit frustrated about why they hadn't left yet as well, but she wasn't taking it out on other people.

        "Okay, Mulder, maybe we're just missing something." she suggested. Mulder let out a sigh, screwing his eyes shut and bringing his hand up to pinch the bridge of his nose. Scully noticed that he was breathing heavily again.

        They stood there for a few moments, thinking over everything that had happened so far, everything they had learned, and what they could have possibly missed, when Scully had an idea.

        "Mulder, what if now that we know everything, we're able to stop him?" Mulder looked at her, narrowing his eyes as he thought. He bit his lip for a second, then let go as he spoke.

        "I don't know. I mean, it's possible." continuing to think some more about it, Mulder stared down at his shoes, his hand on his chin. "It actually may help us to break the loop." he said in conclusion, bringing his head back up to look at Scully. As they continue their stare, Scully notices Mulder's face flinch a bit, as if trying to hold something back. He scrunches his nose, trying to be discreet, and gulps. He still seems to be breathing heavy as well. Not wanting to say anything and make him angry again, Scully decides to let it slide, though a small knot of worry begins to form deep in her stomach.

        "We should go now and see if we can get to him before he jumps." Scully finally says. Mulder only replies with a nod. They then begin to run to the bleachers, Scully slowing her pace a bit so that she could run with Mulder, who was still running slower than usual. Even at this pace he was still falling behind, breathing heavily and scrunching up his face. Soon though they reach the bleachers and run to the top, but are once again too late. They get there just in time to witness Donnie's body hit the ground with a loud thud. The sight not surprising them, they stare down at the body as blood begins to ooze out, filling up every crack and crevice beneath it. They continue to stand there and stare, waiting for the loop to reset, when eventually, everything goes black.


	12. Chapter 12

        Blinking away the harsh light, Scully turns around and rushes towards Mulder, ready to tell him what she thinks they should do next. As she gets to him, she notices that he's scrunching his face up again, though as he hears her approach, he takes in a deep breath and opens his eyes, looking to her and flashing a small smile as if to say that everything is fine.

        "Mulder, really, what is wrong? Why won't you tell me? I know something is wrong, and I would really like to know what-"

        "Scully, just stop. I'm fine. Now, what do you think we should do?" Mulder interrupts her, quickly changing the subject. Glaring at him because of his stubbornness, she lets out a huff of breath, then speaks.

        "Well, I was thinking if we just go now, maybe we'll catch him before he gets to the- Mulder!" Scully is staring in horror at Mulder, who was now on his knees in front of her, having just suddenly fallen to the ground. Scully hurried down next to him, pushing him up a bit so that she could see what was going on. He just sat there, his face scrunched up, his eyes screwed shut, and his jaw clenched. He was also gripping his chest very tightly with his right hand. "Mulder, oh my god, what's wrong?" Scully asked frantically, panicking. He just shakes his head, then turns his face towards her, opening his mouth to speak.

        "Go - go to Donnie." he chokes out between short intakes of breath. Wanting nothing more than to stay by his side, Scully begins to argue.

        "Mulder, no, I can't just leave you here-"

        "GO!" Mulder yells with all he could muster through clenched teeth. Startled, Scully begins to get up, very reluctant to leave. She looks down at him, a lump forming in her throat.

        "I'll be back, Mulder. I'll be back a-and then we can get you some help. We'll be out of here and I'll be able to get you some help." she tried to reassure him, her voice faltering a bit. Then, with one last worried and guilty glance, she turned around and began to run as fast as she could to the bleachers, in hopes of stopping Donnie and getting them out of this damn loop so that she could get Mulder some help.

        Scully arrives at the bleachers just in time to see Donnie making his way to the top. With a sudden burst of hope, she begins to run up the bleachers, nearly tripping a few times. She's only a few steps down as Donnie reaches the top, getting ready to climb over the back.

        "Donnie!" Scully yells, reaching out and just barely brushing his shoulder as she comes to a stop only one step away. Donnie immediately stops, his body going stiff. Slowly, he begins to turn around, finally coming face to face with Scully. His mouth was slightly agape while his eyes were widened with shock, his eyebrows furrowed down in confusion.

        "Y-you can see me?" he asked in a low, disbelieving voice. Scully nodded. She was slightly ecstatic at the fact that she had finally managed to stop him.

        "Yeah."

        "You can really see me?" he asked again, as if he didn't believe her. Scully nodded again in reassurance.

        "Yes, Donnie. I can see you."

        "H-how?" he asked. Scully drew in a deep breath. She spent the next minute giving Donnie a short summary of what had happened to him.

        "I know it sounds crazy, but we're stuck in this loop with you." she finished.

        "We're?"

        "My partner and I."

        "Your partner? Miss, you're all alone." Donnie noted. Him having mentioned that, Scully's mind immediately snapped back to Mulder. She had been in so much shock from having finally stopped Donnie that she had temporarily forgotten about him. This made her want to speed things up, panic and worry beginning to fill up inside of her again. She gulped.

        "He's -  um - not up here at the moment."

        "Oh." Donnie answered. They were silent for a moment, when suddenly Donnie stood up straight, something having caught his attention. He began to turn towards the edge of the bleachers, which caused Scully to stomach to drop a bit. "Do you hear that?" he asked. Furrowing her eyebrows, Scully stared at him.

        "Hear what?"

        "That noise. That-that... that gleaming noise." he replied. Listening hard, Scully could hear it too, though faintly.

        "What is it?" she asked. Donnie looked down and cocked his head a bit. Confused yet interested, Scully made her way next to him at the edge of the bleachers and looked down at where Donnie was staring, and couldn't believe her eyes. Right there on the ground where Donnie had landed every time he had jumped from the bleachers was a large hole, though it was glowing and shining brightly like the sun. Scully squinted her eyes a bit as she looked from it back up to Donnie, who was staring down at the it in a mix of confusion and wonder. Suddenly, a smile breaks out onto his face, and at the same time Scully realizes what it is. It's the light. His light. His way to the other side.

        Donnie looks up at Scully, the smile still on his face as he gives her a small nod.

        "Thank you." he says, then begins to climb onto the other side of the bleachers. Scully watches in astonishment as Donnie let's go and falls into the hole, the light immediately engulfing him. As soon as he was gone, the hole closed up and disappeared. Scully stared at the spot with wide eyes, her mouth agape. She couldn't believe what had just happened. Donnie had just crossed to the other side, and she had witnessed it. If only Mulder could have seen it as well. He would have been so amazed. Once again, panic and worry immediately flooded back into Scully, along with a small amount of fear.

        "Mulder," Scully whispered, her breath hitched as she remembered what state she had left him in. She turned around and began to run back down the bleachers, hurrying as fast as should could to get back to Mulder. Hopefully it wasn't too late.


	13. Chapter 13

        Scully runs quicker than she ever has in her life, and as soon as she gets to Mulder, she is down on the ground, kneeling over him. He's now down on his side, curled up slightly, his face scrunched up in pain as his right arm clutches his chest tightly, his left sprawled out on the ground next to him. Scully quickly sits down and pulls him into her lap, trying to observe him better. He was covered in sweat, his face glistening and his hair damp as she ran her hands through it. As she takes everything in, from the pained look on his face to the way he was gripping his chest, a horrible thought entered her mind. A lump forms in her throat and she has trouble swallowing it down. She can feel her tear ducts readying themselves to cry. She pushes down the feeling as much as she can and tries to speak to Mulder, her voice failing her at first. She quickly clears her throat, making it only a little easier to speak.

        "M-Mulder, I think... I think you might be having a h-heart attack." she tries to say, her voice sounding croaky as panic and fear begin to take over. Mulder responds with a tight nod, confirming what she said. She sits there, her mouth hanging open as she stares down at him in horror and disbelief, not knowing what to do, when suddenly Mulder opens his mouth. She watches as he tries to speak.

        "Scully," it was breathy and broken, yet she knew what he said. She sat up a bit, cradling his head and turning so that she could face him better.

        "Y-yes? Yes?" she answered quickly. Mulder begins to pull his right arm away from his chest, causing his face to scrunch up a bit more in pain. It falls limply against his body. He begins to slowly drag it down to his jackets left inner pocket, trying with all he had to get his unstable hand into it. Scully watched as he grabbed something and began to shakily drag his hand back out, resting it on his thigh. She can see that he’s holding a small, black velvet box. Scully's left hand flies up to cover her mouth as Mulder turns to look at her, using all he had to open his eyes and look up at her.

        "I s-should've - g-given this t-to you a - a long t-time ago." he says, his voice strained as he spoke between sharp intakes of breath. Scully's eyes begin to well up with tears as Mulder drags his arm to her right hand, taking it and placing the box in it, then wrapping his hand around hers. He then tries with all his might to lift his left arm, slowly getting it up, and wrapping it around their hands as well. He squeezed her hand with his two, flashing her a small, pained smile. Tears began to fall down Scully's cheeks as the two stared intently at each other, Scully noticing that Mulder's eyes were welling up with tears as well.

        "I l-love you, Dana." Mulder whispered. It seemed to be getting harder for him to talk. Scully gave him a pained, loving smile, a small sob escaping for her lips.

        "I l-love y-you too, Fox." Scully replied, her sobs beginning to take over now. Mulder stared up at her, his eyes never leaving hers. He opened his mouth slightly to speak.

        "G-g...” his words fail with a huff of breath as he tries his hardest to speak. “Goodb-." his face suddenly screws up and he lets out a pained breath, his right arm flying to his chest and his knees tucking in closer to his body as he begins to have another heart attack. Not knowing what to do, Scully sits there, clutching Mulder to her chest as he shook, sobbing as she tried to hold on to him, her tears covering both of their faces. The light slowly beginning to fade, everything eventually turns black.


	14. Chapter 14

        There's a bright white light shining in her eyes. That's the first thing Scully notices. She brings up her arm to shield her eyes as her senses start to come back to her, beginning to function properly. The second thing she notices is a steady beeping noise coming from somewhere close by. Confusion settling over her, Scully begins to sit up, rubbing her eyes. The third thing she notices is that she was lying down. Why was she lying down? Finally getting to open her eyes, Scully looks around, taking in her surroundings. She was in some sort of room. Looking down, she noticed that she was in a bed, in a gown, with IVs and cords hooking her up to some machines that were by her side, one of which was making the beeping noise she had heard. She appeared to be in the hospital. But why? Why wasn't she at the horse racing track? Why wasn't she still trying to solve the suicide? Why wasn't she with Mulder? As she thought, the memories of everything that had happened began to come back her; her and Mulder at the race track, her and Mulder witnessing the man commit suicide, her and Mulder figuring out that they were in a loop, her and Mulder figuring out why they were in a loop and how to stop it, then her stopping the man, and Mulder having a heart attack... The thought hit her like a ton of bricks. Mulder had suffered a heart attack. Actually, he had suffered _two_ heart attacks. She began to panic, starting to fidget with the cords and IVs, trying to unhook herself from the machines.

        "Mulder," she said, her voice a bit groggy. She had to find Mulder. As she continued to unhook herself from the machines, there was suddenly a person next to her, grabbing her hands and pulling them away from her arms.

        "Miss Scully, I need you to calm down." the person said. Scully looked up, seeing a women standing there with a look of concern as she held onto her wrists. She must be a nurse. She'd know where to find Mulder.

        "Mulder, I need to see Mulder." Scully said. The nurse froze, her face going pale as she stared at Scully. Confused, Scully furrowed her eyebrows. "Miss-" she read the nurse's badge. "Wheeler. I need to see Mulder. Now." Scully said again, a bit more strongly. Why wouldn't she answer her?

        Nurse Wheeler continued to stare at Scully, before swallowing and building up her posture, standing a bit more straight. She let go of Scully's wrists and crossed her arms across her chest.

        "Miss Scully, I..." Nurse Wheeler began, but trailed off. Scully looked up at her, desperate for her to finish her sentence.

        "What?" Scully asked. Nurse Wheeler looked down as she drew in a breath, licked her lips, and then brought her gaze back to Scully.

        "Miss Scully, you and Mr. Mulder were in a terrible car accident." she responded. Scully sighed, a bit exasperated.

        "Yes, I know that. I just want to see Mulder." Scully replied. Nurse Wheeler stared hard at Scully, looking for the right words to say.

        "Well, there was a lot of damage done, and you two were both brought here." Nurse Wheeler continued, skipping over what Scully said, which was starting to make Scully angry. She decided to keep quiet for now though and see if Nurse Wheeler would finally get to the part where she would let her see Mulder. "You were a miracle. Just a broken ankle and a lot of scratches and bruises." she continued. At hearing this, Scully looked down, seeing the slight bulge on her left ankle coming from under the sheets. She hadn't even noticed it. "Mr. Mulder, however, was a different case." Nurse Wheeler said, quickly catching Scully's attention back. What did she mean he was a different case? "The semi-truck that hit you guys hit the driver's side of the car. It mostly hit the hood, but the impact still caused the car to crumple up across his side. The rolls that the car did didn't help either. He was a lot more beaten up then you, by far." she said.

        "So, what then? Is he in the ICU or surgery or something?" Scully asked, not able to help herself. Nurse Wheeler went quiet. She looked down at the bed sheet, not knowing what to say, then looked back up at Scully with a horribly sad look in her eyes. Scully’s breath hitched in her throat. That wasn't what she wanted as a response. Her brain began to reel. All she wanted was Mulder, to see him, to be by his side, to hug him to herself at this very moment.

        "Miss Wheeler, where is Mulder?" Scully asked, trying to keep an authoritative tone, but the shakiness in her voice breaking it slightly. Nurse Wheeler drew in a breath, then looked away as though she were ashamed. After a few seconds, she slowly brought her gaze back to Scully.

        "Miss Scully, I-"

        "Tell me where he is." Scully cut her off. Nurse Wheeler looked at her sadly, swallowing another lump in her throat. Panic began to rise in Scully, a lump beginning to form in her throat as well. She opened her mouth to talk, letting it sit open for a few second as she tried to figure out to say. "Tell me that he's okay." she finally let out, in a breathy, pleading voice. "Please." she added, her voice squeaky and  breaking as tears began to pool in her eyes, falling quickly down her cheeks as she stared up at Nurse Wheeler, who looked as though she was about to start crying as well. Scully’s arms were up at her chest, her hands wrapped around each other so tightly that her knuckles were turning white, though she didn't notice.

        Nurse Wheeler swallowed again and blinked a few times before looking down at Scully, drawing in a quiet, deep breath.

        "Mr. Mulder died about two hours ago. He went into cardiac arrest twice and it proved to be fatal." she finally said, and that was the last thing Scully heard before silence.

        The ringing sound of pure silence in her ears, Scully stared down at the bed sheets, her eyes wide with horror and disbelief, her mouth agape with shock. All she could think about was Mulder. Just Mulder. Mulder was... dead. Gone. _Not coming back._ But _how_? He can't be dead, he was just here. She _just_ saw him. They were _just_ talking not too long ago. Yeah, he went into cardiac arrest, but that wasn't real. They hadn't really been stuck in a loop. _That's not possible._

        Scully’s mind was reeling. She didn't know what to think. How to think. What to do. There was one thing she knew for sure now though, and it was that Fox Mulder, her partner in work and in life, was dead.

        The ringing in her ear stopped as she realized this, and the next thing she knew her body was convulsing and she had vomited onto the floor next to her. Once she had done that, her body began to shake and she began to cry, tears flowing down her cheeks as she stared at the wall with her mouth wide open, letting out a silent scream. She drew in a deep breath, and the next thing she knew, there was a loud wailing noise emitting from her throat. Scully bent forward bringing her knees up to her chest, ignoring the pain that was coming from her ankle and random spots around her body in protest of her movement. She hugged her knees and fell to the side, burying her face in her legs as she curled into a ball and cried. Nurse Wheeler sat down next to her, rubbing her back in soothing circles, trying calm her down, but it didn't help. What use did her small back rubs have to the fact that Fox Mulder was now dead?

        Scully sat there in her hospital bed for what seemed like hours, crying, her head throbbing with pain from it, though she didn't stop as her wails continued to echo horribly throughout the room. Eventually her voice went hoarse and gave away, and her head throbbed so badly that she couldn't think. Her eyes were swollen and aching as well, and soon enough, she fell into a dark, dreamless sleep.


	15. Chapter 15

        There's the sound of a door opening, the creaking noise filling Scully’s ears. She slowly opens her eyes and stares at the wall beside her, not bothering to turn around. She listens as the door shuts with a click and heavy footsteps - low and hesitant - begin to make their way towards her. They stop about a foot away from the bed, and after a few seconds, Scully decides to face her visitor. Slowly, she lifts herself up into a sitting position, quickly rubbing her eyes to rid of the grime they had acquired from her hours upon hours of crying. Deeming herself as presentable as she'll get, Scully turns around, coming face to face with  Walter Skinner. Clearing her throat, Scully tries to sit up straighter to make herself more presentable to the Assistant Director.

        "Sir," Scully begins, but doesn't know what to say. She stares at him, her mouth gaping, looking for words, but then decides it would just be better to stare at her bed sheets. Skinner draws in a deep breath.

        "Agent Scully," he pauses as he searches for the right words to say. "I'm glad you're okay." he finishes. Scully says nothing as she continues to stare down at her sheets. A slight awkward atmosphere begins to form, and Skinner shifts his weight from his left side to his right. It's silent for a little while longer, as Skinner gathers up the courage to continue speaking. "I'm sorry about Mulder. He was a damn good agent, and an even better person." he finally says. At hearing the mention of Mulder, Scully’s eyes begin to well up. She turns her face away to make it unnoticeable while nodding slightly in agreement with his statement. She didn't want to speak, for the fear that her voice would falter and she would start to cry.

        She heard Skinner shift again and knew that he had more to say. She was finally able to calm herself down a bit, and turned to look at Skinner, her blurry eyes and tear streaked face shocking him a bit, leaving a pang of sorrow and guilt in his chest. He had sent them on the case. If he wouldn't have assigned it to them, Mulder wouldn't be dead, and Scully wouldn't be in mourning. He just felt as though most of this was his fault.

        As he stood there, Skinner swallowed a lump that had begun to form in his throat. There was one more thing he needed to do while he was there. He began to reach into his pocket, getting a tight grip on whatever was in there, but not pulling it out just yet. Scully stared in confusion at his hand, then looked back up at his face, her furrowed eyebrows positioned down towards her red, puffy eyes. Skinner swallowed again.

        "The - um - nurses gave this to me. They said, well..." he began to pull out the object from his pocket, his huge hand covering most of it. He brought it in front of him, staring down at it as he began to turn it over so that she could see it. Scully gasped, her hands immediately flying up to cover her mouth as her eyes widened, the blurriness in them beginning to thicken. In Skinner's hand was a small, black velvet box, just like the one Mulder had put into her hands while they were in the loop.

        Trying her best to choke down a sob, she hesitantly tore her hands away from her mouth, clenching her jaw tightly as she shakily reached out towards the box, which Skinner gently placed into her hands. The feeling of the soft velvet felt so familiar. Just as it had felt in the loop. Scully brought the box to her chest, looking down to examine it with her still widened eyes, her mouth now agape.

        "They said that just before he - um - Mulder, you know... well, he took it out from his pocket and handed it to a nurse. They said he was talking about you, how it was yours, and how he wanted them to give it to you." Skinner told her, clenching his jaw to hold back his emotions. It seemed that it was hard for him to tell her this.

        Scully took in all he was saying, never letting her eyes leave the box. Shakily, she gripped the top and began to pull it, the box opening in half. Inside sat a beautiful diamond ring, glimmering up towards her. Scully stared at the ring in astonishment. Tears suddenly began to slide down her cheeks, a few landing on the ring. A low sob escaping from between her lips, Scully took her right hand and grabbed the ring, shakily pulling it from the box. Once she had a grip on it though, she dropped the box in her lap and brought her other hand up to hold it as well so that she could further examine it. She turned the ring over and over in her hands, watching how it caught the light, admiring its beauty, yet the very thing itself filling her with sorrow. She noticed something glinting from inside of it, and bringing it closer to her face, she saw that the ring was engraved. The engraving read "Go with it" which was a thing Mulder had told Scully to do years ago and had become a sort of inside joke between the two. Reading this, Scully let out another low sob, more tears falling down her face. Not being able to hold it in anymore, Scully wrapped her hands tightly around the ring, bringing her fists to her chest as she began to curl up, her head hanging low as she began to cry again, taking in shuddering breaths and letting out broken wails. Her eyes clenched tightly and her head beginning to throb again, Scully only vaguely felt the hand that Skinner had placed on her shoulder in an act of sympathy and comfort. A few moments later though, Skinner withdrew his hand and made his way out of the room, the door closing with a low click behind him.

        Scully fell to her side, curled up and crying once again. The ring still tightly clutched in her hands, the box lie forgotten in her lap. Still crying, Scully pulled back her hands and opened them, using her right hand to grab the ring, then, holding up her shaky left hand, she tried her best to put the ring on her ring finger, which was difficult due to her not being able to stop shaking. Once it was on, Scully stared down at the ring on her finger, imaging what a happy married life her and Mulder would've had. They would've gotten to work together, bought a home at some point, and eventually even have kids. They would've been so happy. These thoughts burned deep into Scully’s mind and she couldn't bear to think about them any longer. Wrapping her arms around herself, Scully continued to cry, her sobs wracking the room, her tears drenching her pillow, and eventually, she fell into a deep, dreamless sleep.


	16. Epilogue

        It took weeks for Scully to recuperate, and even then, she still wasn't the same. After she was released from the hospital, Scully spent her first night out writing up her report. The next day she turned it into Skinner, not caring that it was probably one of the most wildest and unexplainable things that she had ever written or that he would ever read. It was the truth. She and Mulder had indeed been stuck in a time loop and she wasn't going to let anyone tell her otherwise.

        Right after she turned in her report she asked for a few days off, to which Skinner gave her two weeks. A bit more than she had expected, Scully was glad that she would have all of that time to try and regain herself.

        The last night of her two weeks off was tough. She didn't want to go back into work, not without Mulder. She didn't want to do anything without him. Even just living in their house without him was difficult. She had been thinking about moving. That night, Scully laid down in bed, and just as every other night since she had returned home alone, she curled up with Mulder's pillow, the faint scent of him that lingered on it filling her somewhat with comfort. Eventually, after what seemed like hours, she finally fell asleep.

        Darkness. The only thing to be seen was darkness. This seems to be a dream, or at least Scully thinks it is.

        _"If I would've proposed to you earlier, what would you have said?"_ an echoey voice asks. It's Mulder.

        _"Yes. I would've said yes."_ another echoey voice responds emotionally, this voice belonging to Scully. Though nothing can be seen, you can hear the smile in both voices. Their love for one another can almost be felt physically throughout the darkness. Right then, Scully knew that everything would be okay. Though they were separated for now, Mulder was in a better place, and one day she would be with him again. Then they would spend the rest of eternity happy to be together again, once and for all.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey guys! As much as it pains me to say this, the story is now over. It makes me kind of sad, really. I love this story and didn’t want it to be over, but alas, all good things must come to an end. I just have a few things I would like to say. Okay, first off, I would like to say thank you to everyone who read this story. I really hope that you enjoyed it! Next, I’d like to say sorry if the story didn’t exactly end to your liking. Like I said in the first chapter, the idea for this story came from a dream I had, which was a very interesting dream, so I really wanted the story to be just like it, and unfortunately Mulder had to go. I have to admit, I did almost cry a few times while writing about Mulder’s death in the later chapters. I love him so much. His death was very difficult to write about. All in all though, I knew how I wanted the story to go and end, and I think that it came out pretty well, to be honest. Well, I think that’s it. So again, thank you all so much for reading this story. It really means a lot to me. Goodbye for now!


End file.
